Featured News
Megan Rapinoe: I-638 Isn't About "Protecting Girls"—It's About Distracting Us From What Matters
Marie Claire 7/13/2026
“How do you enforce who is “girl enough” to play sports? In my home state of Washington, the most extreme proposal of its kind is before voters on the November ballot. Measure I-638 would require all girls—but not boys—to be medically sex certified before they can play sports.”
Letter: A bad initiative is on the way
Go Skagit 7/09/2026
This requires that a personal healthcare provider verifies one or more of the following: the student’s reproductive anatomy, genetic makeup or normal endogenously produced testosterone levels.
Sports exams are not designed to answer these questions.
Letter: Pelvic exams in girls sports
Spokesman Review 7/08/2026
Heywood’s dangerous idea risks direct harm to Washington’s girls; let them play without expensive tests or invasive exams.
Transgender ballot initiative could require genital exams girls to play sports
KUOW 6/04/2026
Former school nurse Katie Johnson said schools with large populations of students who don’t have regular access to doctors typically complete the sports physicals in “batches,” so a volunteer doctor may come in for a day and examine students in a large gym or public setting.
Battle ramps up over WA ballot measure to bar trans students…
Washington State Standard 6/22/2026
We have to balance the rights of loving parents with the additional life-saving duty to protect the safety of youth who are victims of domestic violence and child abuse,” said King County Executive Girmay Zahilay, a Democrat. “There is no easy answer here. There’s no…
Brian Heywood's Initiative Wants to Inspect Your Daughter's Body
Everett Community 6/24/2026
The Washington Interscholastic Activities Association estimates that of approximately 250,000 student athletes, between five and ten of them are transgender girls competing in sports. That is, at most, 0.004 percent of the student athlete population.
U.S. Supreme Court Ruling on Trans Sports Participation Does Not…
NHWS 6/30/2026
Washington’s blanket sports ban is the most extreme proposal of its kind in the country. Unlike the cases considered before court today, it will require girls who wish to participate in sports to prove their sex through invasive genital examinations. Its impacts will not…
Legal, Medical Experts Provide Factual Information on Heywood Initiatives…
NHWS 2/3/2026
Experts in their fields briefed reporters on: harmful impacts on student health and safety of IL26-001, such as sharing student information with adults who are under criminal investigation for abusing their own children; likely unconstitutionality of IL26-638 in…
Girls will be forced to undergo vaginal inspections if voters approve anti-…
LGBT Nation 6/9/2026
The initiative would require students who want to participate in girls’ sports to provide “a health examination and consent form or other statement signed by the student’s personal health care provider that verifies the student’s biological sex, relying only on one…
No Hate in WA State Campaign Kickoff Draws Crowd 400+ To defeat…
NHWS 6/18/2026
Last night the No Hate in WA State officially kicked off the campaign season to a crowd of more than 400 people. The event, held at Neumos in Seattle, featured Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, King County Executive Zahilay, Seattle City Councilmember…
I'm a WNBA player. Don't use athletes like me to exclude trans women.
USA Today 4/10/2026
I have played basketball for as long as I can remember. The game shaped who I am, gave me opportunities to travel, forge lifelong friendships, and use my platform to advocate for others. Now that spotlight has turned on my teammates and me…
WA voters to see ballot initiative aimed at trans girls in sports
Seattle Times 3/5/2026
Dr. Lelah Rave, executive director of the Washington chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said neither blood tests nor pelvic exams are included in sports physicals under current standards of care….
Campaigns for and against two WA initiatives ramp up
KXLY 2/3/2026
"Many youth who feel unsafe or rejected at home because of their gender or sexuality rely on school based health services, navigation to care, or simply a safe adult to confide in at school. But again, the confusing language around…
Washington State PAC Pushes for Trans Sports Ban
Them 1/7/2026
A far-right political action committee claims to have collected enough signatures to put a school-specific transgender sports ban involving genital inspections onto the Washington state ballot. On January 3, the right-wing group Let’s Go Washington announced…
Brian Heywood’s Trans Sports Ban is Far Worse Than…
WFF 1/13/2026
To play girls’ sports, student athletes, many of whom are minors, could be subjected to blood tests or invasive genital exams. [...] A 2020 Human Rights Watch report on sex testing in international sports concluded that such tests “violate fundamental rights to privacy…
Heywood Initiative & Trump Administration Political Assault on…
NHWS 1/22/2026
In response to the Secretary of State’s certification of Initiative 26-638, Brian Heywood’s anti-trans student initiative, and to the Trump Administration’s continued assault on Washington schools with a second politicized Title IX investigation, Shannon McCann…
WFF 10/8/2025
“Washington Families for Freedom has condemned and will continue to condemn violence against people exercising their first amendment right to gather petition signatures. These attacks harm our communities and go against everything that our campaign…
Harmful Anti-LGBTQ+ Initiatives Threaten the Safety of Vulnerable…
Brian Heywood’s Trans Sports Ban is Far Worse Than Measures Consider…
WFF 1/15/2026
Today the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments on West Virginia and Idaho’s laws that restrict trans girls’ ability to participate in school sports. While these states’ laws are both discriminatory and unnecessary, a far worse version might be…
Trans sports ban with genital
inspections is now being…
Tyla 1/7/2026
A political action committee has announced that it has collected enough signatures to potentially get a school-specific trans sports ban onto Washington state’s ballot later this year. Such a ban would require girls to undergo physical examinations in order to…
Washington Families for Freedom Statement on Trump Memo…
WFF 9/29/2025
“The first amendment is clear: we all have a right to freedom of speech, assembly, and petition under the first amendment. This action is designed to intimidate groups who oppose Trump from exercising those rights. This will especially impact targeted groups, including the trans community…
Washington Families for Freedom Statement on Violence
WFF 1/2/2026
Hedge fund mega-millionaire Brian Heywood says he plans to submit signatures for two harmful anti-LGBTQ+ initiatives today. If passed, IL 26-001 and IL 26-638 could increase abuse and safety risks for some of our state’s most vulnerable students, including LGBTQ+…
Anti-LGBTQ+ Initiatives Could Cause Serious Safety Issues For Students…
WFF 11/20/2025
Libby Watson, campaign manager for WA Families for Freedom, said “Paid signature gatherers are promoting poorly written initiatives that will threaten the safety of every Washington student, putting some students at greater risk of abuse at home and at school through…
Mega-Millionaire’s Initiatives Threaten Dignity and Safety of Washington…
WFF 9/8/2025
Washington Families for Freedom, a coalition of parents, teachers, businesses, LGBTQ and community groups, is standing up against attacks on students’ rights to freedom and privacy. The coalition includes the ACLU of Washington, Greater Seattle Business Association, Gender Justice…